Trees That Lose Their Leaves in the Winter

Written by naomi vogel

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Introduction

Introduction

Trees That Lose Their Leaves in the Winter

There are two types of trees: evergreen and deciduous. Evergreen trees retain their foliage all year long. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the fall and winter. There are many varieties of trees in the United States that are classified as deciduous trees. They include shade trees, ornamental trees and other common types of trees.

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in fall and winter. (Bare Tree image by Mich from Fotolia.com)

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Oak Trees

Even though there are some oak trees that do not lose their leaves in winter, such as the evergreen myrtle oaks and live oaks, according to Gardenguides.com, the majority of the oak tree species shed their leaves by winter. These include: white oaks, bur oaks, overcup oaks, Gambel oaks, chestnut oaks, black oaks, scarlet oaks, red oaks, willow oaks and blue oaks.

Maple Trees

Maple trees offer bright red, orange and yellow leaves every autumn. North Dakota State University states that maple trees have a specific trait that classifies them as deciduous trees: their simple leaves are located opposite each other on the twig. According to Gargenguides.com, there are 13 different types of maples in North America and most are deciduous; they include Boxelders, bigleaf maple, mountain maple, silver maple, sugar maple, Norway maple, black maple and striped maple.

Fruit Trees

Many fruit-bearing trees are deciduous. Among them are the apple tree, American plum tree, Allegheny plum tree, black cherry tree, sweet crabapple, frosted hawthorn, and persimmon tree. These trees are all native to the United States.

Apple trees are among many fruit-bearing deciduous trees (apple on the tree image by Igor Zhorov from Fotolia.com)

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Cottonwood Trees

Leaves of the cottonwood tree have a glossy texture, and turn brown in the autumn before falling off in winter. These trees grow quickly and spread cotton-like seeds in the springtime. They like moist soils.

A circle of cottonwood trees (baumkreis image by Rainer Schmittchen from Fotolia.com)

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Nut Trees

Like fruit-bearing trees, nut trees are also deciduous. According to Gardenguides.com, many of the nut trees, such as the hickories and walnuts, have compound leaves with a large number of narrow leaflets attached to a central stem. Deciduous nut trees include: hazelnut, butternut, pecan, pignut hickory, shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, and walnut.

Willows

According to Gargenguides.com, the weeping willow tree is one of the most easily recognisable deciduous trees due to its gently "weeping" branches and foliage. This tree which is often found near bodies of water has been an inspiration to artists and poets such as the painter, Claude Monet.

Willow tree over a river (willow-tree about river image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com)

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Birch Trees

There are several different types of birch trees: crimson frost birch, silver birch, heritage river birch, whitebarked Himalayan birch, paper birch, red birch, yellow birch and weeping birch. According to Treehelp.com, they all share the following characteristics: they grow to between 40 to 50 feet and the leaves turn yellow in the fall.

There are many different kinds of birch trees (birch tree in spring image by Calin Tatu from Fotolia.com)

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Poplar Trees

All poplar trees are deciduous, and there are several different types: white, grey, Aspen, black, and Lombardy. According to Gardenguides.com, poplar trees are often used for firewood. Unfortunately caring for a poplar tree may be difficult since they are prone to many diseases and pests.

A beautiful pathway surrounded by poplar trees (poplar trees image by david hughes from Fotolia.com)